Hawks over Clippers

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The Hendricken Hawks took down the Cumberland Clippers this Tuesday night, 61 to 53, behind a big night from star sophomore point guard Sebastian Thomas. Thomas tailed 19 points to lead both teams in scoring, with senior guard Andre De Los Santos chipping in with 12 points of his own. Head Coach Jamal Gomes credits Thomas’s smart decisions while playing the point position, but also noted that “it wasn’t our best night defensively.” Gomes also stated that he would have liked to play a bit smarter, in which he was referring to bad passes and tough shots taken by the guard-heavy Hawks offense.

Gomes praised his senior starters, stating that both Bobby Fiorito and Andre De Los Santos both had good games, but at times were not smart with their choices when passing and shooting the ball.

A quiet night from star dual-sport athlete Angel Sanchez, who is known for being one of the more consistent guys on the team. Sanchez had 9 points but missed 4 free throws which could have essentially won Hendricken the game earlier. Sanchez did, however, have a few key passes and shots in the first half, with Hendricken barely being able to hold onto a lead.

Andre De Los Santos scored most of his points in the opening minutes, with the Hawks trailing by eight with a little under 2 minutes in the game has gone by.

Gomes emphasized after the game that “we have to defend and we have to rebound.” It by far was not the Hawks best night on the defensive side of the ball, with the Hawks giving up many offensive rebounds that could have been secured. Jackson Zancan, the starting big man for Cumberland, was one of the reasons the Hawks had a hard time getting rebounds, with Zancan being easily over six foot three. Even though Gomes said the team could have played better defensively, the Hawks did a good job off trapping Zancan in the second half, which helped the Hawks get more defensive stops which would lead to more baskets by the Hawks.

The Hawks were also helped by their bench tonight, with Sebastian Bastillo scoring four of his six points in the first half, along with Helio Sousa scoring a three-pointer from off the bench midway through the first half.

The Hawks, however, known for being a guard-heavy offense, had an unusually quiet night from big men Cam Hughes (who is still limited due to an ankle sprain suffered over eight weeks ago) and Tyriek Weeks. Weeks scored six points in the night, while Hughes scored two in limited minutes.

When asked what the game plan for the Hawks next opponent, Woonsocket High School, Gomes said they would “be in good shape win or lose” if they rebound and play defense. Gomes also stated that they would “go back to drawing board.” Another possibility Gomes said is that the Hawks could also see Cumberland in the first round of the state playoffs, but the Hawks will be ready and well equipped.